First, research at NSLS-II will not be in the esoteric domains of particle physics or cosmology, but in areas with significant, practical applications: energy production, materials science and nanotechnology. Large corporations such as GE, IBM and Corning will use its unique resources to address problems they could not before. Helped by Stony Brook University's efforts, a nexus of 400 companies, universities and government labs has begun to collaborate in a way that will fundamentally restructure relations between these institutions.

I think everyone that works at a synchrotron light source can testify to the fact that almost everything that is done at such facility has an immediate impact or benefit.